Pretty Books (4)

This week I am celebrating some beautiful books on my bookshelf. These are all titles one my TBR that I am anxious to read and anxious to see if their stories are as beautiful as their covers. Next time I'll try to include some books I've already read!

Friday Reads

This week has been a little rough, but I am working on a couple of great books whenever I get the chance. I hope this weekend will have even more free time so I can keep reading! Fingers crossed!

Review - Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger

Series: Supernatural Society #1

Genre: Science-Fiction

Age Group: New Adult

Source: Purchased

Published: November 2016

Paperback - 200 pgs

Add it // Buy it

Rating: 4/5 

Imogene Hale is a lowly parlourmaid with a soul-crushing secret. Seeking solace, she takes work at a local hive, only to fall desperately in love with the amazing lady inventor the vampires are keeping in the potting shed. Genevieve Lefoux is heartsick, lonely, and French. With culture, class, and the lady herself set against the match, can Imogene and her duster overcome all odds and win Genevieve's heart, or will the vampires suck both of them dry?

Delicate Sensibilities? This story contains women pleasing women and ladies who know what they want and pursue it, sometimes in exquisite detail.

After I enjoyed the Parasol Protectorate, I was anxious to read more Gail Carriger and I adored this novella.  While this short story does include a few characters to the PP series, you can easily enjoy this short romance without reading that series. If you have read the PP you will appreciate, as I did, how Carriger has an amazing ability to grow and develop her characters between series.

This lesbian romance was light and fluffy. I had a lot of fun reading it and enjoyed Imogene as a character very much. Though she wasn't as confident as some of Carriger's other lead characters, she was feisty and fought back as best she could in her situation. Genevieve Lefoux was one of my favorite characters in the Parasol Series and I was hoping for a happier ending for her in this short story than she had in the series.

Overall I wish a few of the transitions had been smoother and, of course, I wish it was longer!  I've said before this world incorporates all my favorite things and that hasn't changed. I'm anxiously awaiting more of these novellas! 

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Books I want to Read in 2017

While we are almost a month into the new year, I am still concentrating on my goals for reading. This year I really want to read a lot of the books I already own since I'm trying to reduce my TBR. However, there are a lot of exciting releases coming out this year as well and I'm anxious to read them as well!

  

  

  

My Last TTT ----> Top Ten 2016 Releases I Didn't Get to 

Goodreads Tag

Questions: 

1) What was the last book you marked as read

2) What are you currently reading?

3) What was the last book that you marked TBR

4) What book do you plan on reading next?

5) Do you use the star rating system?

5) How are you doing on your reading challenge?

6) Do you have a wishlist

7) What do you plan to buy next?

8) Do you have favorite quotes on GR?

9) Who are your favorite authors?

10) Have you joined any groups?

Review - Goldenhand by Garth Nix

Series: Old Kingdom Series #5

Genre: Fantasy

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: Purchased

Published: October 2016

Hardcover - 368 pgs

Add it // Buy it

Rating - 4.5/5

Lirael is no longer a shy Second Assistant Librarian. She is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, with Dead creatures to battle and Free Magic entities to bind. She’s also a Remembrancer, wielder of the Dark Mirror. Lirael lost one of her hands in the binding of Orannis, but now she has a new hand, one of gilded steel and Charter Magic.

When Lirael finds Nicholas Sayre lying unconscious after being attacked by a hideous Free Magic creature, she uses her powers to save him. But Nicholas is deeply tainted with Free Magic. Fearing it will escape the Charter mark that seals it within his flesh and bones, Lirael seeks help for Nick at her childhood home, the Clayr’s Glacier.

But even as Lirael and Nick return to the Clayr, a young woman from the distant North braves the elements and many enemies in a desperate attempt to deliver a message to Lirael from her long-dead mother, Arielle. Ferin brings a dire warning about the Witch With No Face. But who is the Witch, and what is she planning?

It's great when your anticipated releases don't let you down. Goldenhand was one of my most anticipated releases of the fall of 2016 and it delivered!

Reading this was so much fun. Nix reintroduced many of my favorite characters from The Old Kingdom Series as well as bringing in new characters that I became very fond of. All the characters felt complex and developed. I liked how we expanded on Lireal's character even more  and how she recognized her own character development. Seeing her back in the library really emphasized how much she changed since she was introduced. Not only did Nix expand on several of my favorite characters, he also expanded my favorite fantasy world. It was fantastic and I love learning even more about the magic and history of this complex world.

The story was well developed and the pace was very steady until the end. The resolution came together very easily and quickly. After such a well built story, this quick ending disappointed me. More tension before the resolution would have been more interesting. Also while I really enjoyed the story, I did find it frustrating that we changed point of view every chapter. This made it quite difficult to submerge myself in the story. Unlike his other books where point of view changed every few chapter, this constant change was disruptive to my reading.

Though this story wrapped up many of the loose ends from the original trilogy, I hope we will see even more of these characters and this world. 

Star Jar Update for 2017

Over the last year I've been filling a star jar with origami stars with the titles of books on the inside. I use different colors for each rating and I've really enjoyed doing this. I would like to fill the jar then adjust my method a bit. I'm still trying to figure out how. However, I don't love the way I'm doing it now. If you have any suggestions, let me know!  

Monday Bookish Update

Last week was rough...I went into a lot of the reasons why I've been having a bad time lately. Everything seems to go wrong at once!

December Book Haul (2016)

Well folks, welcome to the last book haul for a while. I want to really limit my book purchases in 2017 and reduce my TBR. I know I say this a lot but this time I really mean it! I'm going to be very very selective about the books I purchase in the coming year. If you have any suggestions or recommendations from your favorites, let me know!

Books Mentioned:

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Review - Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews

Series: Kate Daniels #7

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Age Group: Adult

Source: Purchased

Published: July 2014

Mass Market - 381 pgs

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Rating: 3/5

As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.

As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear…

Originally in my wrap up I rated this a 4/5 but honestly I need to drop a star. The more I think about this book the more issues I have with it. While the action and adventure is as exciting as ever and Kate is still badass, the were quite a few issues.

First of all Kate and Curran go back to normal after the entire debacle from the previous book. They agreed they have trust issues, but now everything it just fine? Seems a little too easy to me. While I want Kate to have someone she can rely on, I find this romance problematic even though I love them. I have a complicated relationship with their relationship. Also the first half of this book really dragged. I like the political problems Kate navigates while on a case, but the Pack problems are getting old and repetitive.

My second big problem was meeting Roland. We built Kate's Father up over six books so I shouldn't be surprised I was a bit disappointed. While I do appreciate he is more complex than just a big powerful bad guy Kate needs to defeat, he didn't wow me. I'm just not impressed with Roland so far? I understand he is powerful, we've been told a lot, but to me that just means if he and Kate really butt heads she will die. I don't want that to happen! Maybe I'm just confused because he didn't seem as terrible as Kate described him?

Overall this installment was good, but so much build up to the big bad guy just let me down. I am still excited to keep reading this series and I'll be moving onto the next book soon. 

My Review of Magic Bites (Kate Daniels #1)

Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To

Every year so many books are released and I can never get to all the ones I want to read! It is impossible and frustrating and sad! These are the ten releases from 2016 I didn't get to when they were released so I will carry them with me into the new year. I'm excited for them all so I won't bore you with descriptions saying that for every book.

Check out Broke and the Bookish for more topics. 

   

    

My Last Top Ten Tuesday ----> Nine 2017 Debuts I'm Excited For

December Wrap Up (2016)

December was a good reading month for me. I worked really hard in the first half of the month to hit my reading goal for the year and I managed to do it! I liked jut about everything I read this month, but I did end my reading year on a sour note because I chose to mark one book as DNF. Let me know what books you finished off 2016 with!

Books Mentioned: 

Persuasion by Jane Austen

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

Fruits Baskets Vol. 4 by Natsuki Takaya

Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Light Between Oceans by M. Stedman (DNF)

Review - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Series: ACOTAR #2

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Purchased

Published:

Hardcover

Add it // Buy it

Rating: 4/5

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

On an enjoyment level I want to rate this book a five out of five. However, there were a few problems in the transition from book one to this one and I am developing some issues with Maas as a writer. So overall, I couldn't give this book the full five stars.

While the endings of her books are spectacular, the middle is often slow and takes a long time to develop. In this particular book several characters, Feyre specifically, changed completely from the end of book one to the start of book two. Instead of doing the leg work and showing us how the characters changed and gradually changing them, the cast is totally different. In a lot of ways it felt like we started over with an entire new set of characters. This actually felt very much like how Chaol's character did a 180  from Heir of Fire to Queen of Shadows.

While I have critiques about how we moved from book one to book two, the story and romance of this installment had me hooked. I loved how Feyre took control of her situation and had the strength to break out of a cycle of abuse. I did appreciate how Maas included Feyre's mental health issues after Under the Mountain which often isn't covered in YA/NA books. Maas has the ability to make me ship just about anyone and the romance in this story destroyed me. The new characters are also great.

So to recap I am frustrated with Maas's writing and how she seem to be falling into a pattern in her books. Even so, I really enjoyed this book and I am reinvested after an amazing ending. I'm anxiously waiting for the third book, which may or may not be the final book.

Happy Reading

Top (Seven) Books of 2016

I've mentioned a few time that it was hard to rank books I've read this year because I read so many great stories. Therefore, I have seven books to show you today and I hope you'll find something you would enjoy. I loved these stories very very much.

Top Nine 2017 Debuts I'm Excited For

It is hard to keep up with all the new releases I want to read from favorite authors and new authors. These are the ones that really appeal to me and I'm hoping to pick up at least a few of these in the new year. Check out Broke and the Bookish for more topics in 2017!

  

  

  

Last Top Ten ---> Surprise Books of  2016

2016 Wrap Up & 2017 Goals

It is time for that yearly tradition of going over the goals of the old year and making new ones for the coming year. I'm excited to go over the goals I've accomplished in 2016 and tell all of you the ones I've made for 2017.